the christmas bet
one
RACHEL
Rachel walkedpast the Christmas tree in the main area of the company offices and down the hall to the managing editor’s office.
Since the door was open, she stepped in and plopped the book she’d been carrying down onto her friend Courtney’s desk with a thunk, landing it right next to the figurine of Big Foot wrapped in Christmas tree lights, wearing a Santa hat. “I’m in. The bet is on.”
For as much as she’d fought even reading the book in the first place, her chest was light and her heart was racing as she thought about actually committing to the bet. She’d wanted to let Court know all day, but their next magazine issue was a double, which always made their December workloads insane. She’d been scrambling all day to get the most urgent things done.
Courtney’s eyes traveled from her computer screen to the book to Rachel’s face before her hands got all fluttery and she picked up her desk phone. She pressed a speed dial button before putting it on speaker phone and placing the phone back into its cradle. Normally, when Courtney was behindher desk, she was the picture of professionalism—her clothes perfectly pressed, her brown hair in a bun, her expression exuding confidence, competence, and poise. But right now, she looked much more kid-at-Christmas than Managing Editor atMemories not Dreamsmagazine.
Of course, once Court stepped out of the office, she typically showed off the part of her personality that had bought the Christmas-obsessed Sasquatch sitting on her desk.
The moment Rachel heard the word “Hello?” come from the phone’s speaker, she knew that Courtney had called their friend Lucy.
“Have you left for the day yet?”
“I’m in the middle of leaving—just stepped off the elevator. Why? What’s up?”
Courtney looked at Rachel, excitement in her eyes. “Come back up. Rachel just said yes to the bet.”
Rachel crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as Courtney ended the call. “This is not that big of a deal.”
Court stood and made her way around the desk. “Yes it is, and you know it.”
Okay, yeah, she knew it. Saying yes to new things was far outside Rachel’s comfort zone and wasn’t going to be easy. Maybe she was just saying it wasn’t a big deal to make herself believe that she could do it. That it wasn’t going to be so hard.
Courtney picked up the book,A Year of Yes, and ran a hand over the cover before meeting Rachel’s eyes again. “So you read the whole thing?”
“I did.” It had taken her an embarrassing amount of time to finish. Her son, Aiden, was only six, so by the time Rachel saw him after work, he was dying for her attention. As a single mom, her to-do list was always a million miles long, so it wasn’t like she could just sit down and read during daytime hours. And by the time she finally fell into bed at night, she often only got aparagraph or two read before she fell asleep with the book still open.
But for a book that suggested doing something that was the very opposite of her nature, shewantedto do what it suggested and say yes to new experiences. On her own, though, she knew it was something she’d never convince herself to commit to, so maybe it was good that her friends were pushing her.
Lucy hurried into the office and shut the door behind her. She was panting, like she’d run the whole way, her dark bob of hair a little messier than normal, her eyes wide with excitement. “You’re going to do it? I can’t believe that you sat at the desk next to mine all day and didn’t say anything!”
Back when Rachel was the office assistant instead of a graphic designer, she had become good friends with Lucy. It had thrilled her that she got to sit next to Lucy once she’d taken on her new job. As impossible as the task sometimes seemed as a single mom, Rachel tried to be on top of everything in her life. By contrast, Lucy was the definition of a “hot mess,” which was, admittedly, rather refreshing to be around. It kept Rachel feeling balanced, somehow.
“I don’t get why this is such a big deal for you two,” Rachel said. She got why it was a big deal for herself—just not why her friends wanted her to do it so badly.
Courtney and Lucy shared a look before Court said, “You need everything… controlled. So this kind of thing is just a bit unusual for you.”
“Oh, come on. I’m notthatbad.” Right? They didn’t live in her head so they didn’t really know how much she liked things organized and predictable. It couldn’t be that obvious to others.
Lucy’s eyebrow rose. “You sewed dividers into your purse.”
“Okay, that’s not controlling. That’spractical.”
Lucy folded her arms. “And you put labeled tabs on each divider like it’s a filing cabinet.”
“If the three of us raced to see who could grab a fingernail file out of their purse the quickest, who do you think would win?”
Courtney didn’t even answer. She just said, “And let’s not forget the Daily List on your phone.”
Oof. That felt like a shot straight to the list. That thing was important and needed to be defended at all costs. “I have a lot to stay on top of. If I didn’t have everything scheduled down to the minute, it wouldn’t all get done.”
“And then there’s the Monthly Plan,” Courtney said.
